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Monday, October 25, 2010

#91: Ken Cuccinelli

This is a difficult one. Vileness and punditry would usually not be sufficient for inclusion in our encyclopedia, but when the vileness is bred by ignorance, denialism and a general anti-scientific stance, I suppose it should – possibly – qualify.

Ken Cuccinelli is the Virginia Attorney General, and is most famous for his persecution of scientists who obtain results he does not like, trying to threaten them into silence by issuing groundless subpoenas. Described and discussed here, here, here, here, here, here, and here (and many other places). Even other denialists, such as MacIntyre, thought Cuccinelli’s stunt was over the top. That tells you something.

In my eyes, this counts as lunacy, and should be sufficient for inclusion. If you disagree, then Cuccinelli also led a rabid, flailing attack on Virginia’s state seal since it depicted the goddess Virtus with a bare breast. That should do the trick in any case.

Cuccinelli also argued extensively that universities in Virginia were not allowed to prohibit discrimination against gays. Apparently gays aren’t protected by the 14th Amendment since the people who wrote it didn’t like sodomites.

20 comments:

A couple of updates on Cuccinelli are here: http://scienceblogs.com/illconsidered/2010/10/university_of_virginia_continu.php, here: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/10/isnt_this_an_abuse_of_power.php, and here:http://scienceblogs.com/catdynamics/2010/08/virginia_judge_sets_aside_clim.php

He is, and I don't think it can be explained away as cynical pandering to the religious right or as pure malice (as, I suspect, is the case with -say - Karl Rove, whom I doubt is a loon when push comes to shove). Or maybe?

Cheerleaders from Byrd Middle School will lead the students in a cheer to stop bullying. An SCA representative will speak on the topic of courage, and students will say the “No Bullying Allowed” pledge.

Who: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli will speak to the student body on the topic of bullying.

Having a flaming bigot who does not support measures against discrimination based on sexual orientation to speak about bullying in school is really heartwarming. Apparently the last message was created by a spambot operating for Cuccinelli (who did not bother to read the entry). In other words, Cuccinelli supports campaigning by spamming. Charming.

On a more cheerful note, the October tally clicked in at 30 entries - almost one per day, and hence almost contributing to catching up ...

Ummmm? I posted that bit of news about Cuccinelli as guest speaker at an anti-bullying rally because it was so freaking absurd. I considered writing an intro along the lines of "Isn't this unbelievably hilarious and outrageous?", but incorrectly assumed that kind of heavy-handed explanation would not be necessary on a skeptical, humorous blog. Sheesh. Lesson learned. If I should comment again in future, I will be sure to dumb it down.

Pertinent on Cuccinelli’s sodomy problem. And there is a good resource on Cuccinelli’s extremism here. Indeed, his campaigns seems be in some tough weather, though he has recently strengthened his calls for assistance directed at the more delusional segments of the religious right.

In any case, we have been somewhat slow to update on his recent campaign, the platforms of which included at least of warning his fans of an immanent future where pastors are thrown in jail and homeschooling is outlawed. Without evidence, of course, but that goes without saying. It was a warning intended to feed into the paranoia of the crazies who supported him after all. Unfortunately for him, his extreme agenda tended to flop with the supreme courts (his attempts to revisit a ban on sodomy being a particularly glaring example). Nevertheless, for some tea party leaders Cuccinelli was apparently not conservative enough.